"Great! You’re here too!"

On their way to the most popular restaurant in the Inner Court, the group met with Tamar who was searching for Ariana.

"Nice! Nice! Come with us."

Dera clapped and pulled the girl along with them.

Finally arriving at the restaurant, Seraph could only say he was disappointed. The restaurant was impressive, enough to even make anyone gawk.

But it was nothing compared to the cafeteria at the Soul Peak. If this restaurant was Earth, then the Soul Peak Cafeteria was Heaven.

He turned to look at Ariana. "You guys pay for food here?"

The others froze, looking at him strangely. Even Ariana gave him a perplexed look.

"Of course. Don’t tell me... you don’t pay in Soul Peak?"

Dera’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Seraph blinked, then tactically ignored her question.

"Don’t worry, everyone. Treats are on me."

The seven of them entered the cafeteria, then sat around a large table.

Another inner court disciple came to them as a waiter, then showed them the menu.

Seraph couldn’t find the top dishes he liked in the menu, so he just ordered something moderate.

The rest also made their orders, the they began chatting.

Dera asked questions about Seraph’s childhood, to which Ariana was happy to discuss.

The white-haired boy could only shoot her piercing glares that she totally ignored.

"Wahh! You’re good in many weapons? Isn’t that nice?"

The black-haired girl squealed excitedly, gazing at Seraph with starry eyes.

In return, the boy only smiled and thought inwardly.

’If you were aware of the existence of more dangerous weapons like guns, how would you react?’

Unfortunately, he couldn’t mass-produce such things yet. If he did them now, then there was a chance that it could sprout a fierce war between several kingdoms.

’And I’m definitely not strong enough to control a kingdom or kingdoms. So, yeah. Not a plan.’

The waiter returned with a few others, serving them with their orders.

Seraph accepted his own with a smile, then looked at the waiter.

"Hou much?"

The disciple answered in a low voice. "Seven Gold Spirit Crystals."

Nodding, Leon got the money from his pocket and gave it to the young man who hurriedly collected them and left.

"Let’s eat."

Seraph smiled and began eating. The others also dug into their respective meals, savoring the taste while reveling in the harmonious atmosphere.

It was a delightful moment.

Just as he was about to finish eating, Seraph looked up at Tamar.

"You... you’re sick?"

The question confused everyone at the table, and they all turned to look at the girl.

Tamar’s hand froze, and her eyes darted to Seraph’s face in shock.

That was all the confirmation he needed.

His eyes narrowed, and he put down the spoon in his mind.

"Tell me, Tamar. What is the nature of your current sickness?"

Tamar slowly averted her gaze, but instead of answering, she asked a question.

"How did you know I’m sick?"

There was curiosity as well as suspicion in her eyes. After all, Seraph could be bluffing.

Understanding her doubts, Seraph explained. "Naturally, a sick person has some symptoms that show on their bodies."

He tapped his finger on the table twice, then continued.

"Your face is pale—too pale. Even your lips are pale. Also, I noticed that your steps were unsteady even though you tried to hide it. Also, your eyes are a bit red. Do you understand now? Tell me what kind of sickness it is."

The other five at the table were paying attention to their conversation, most especially Ariana. After all, this concerned her roommate and friend.

Tamar glanced at everyone, seemingly hesitating. However, after seeing their concerned expressions, she gave in and spoke up.

"It’s a bit... well, I was bitten by a venomous spirit beast while I was a kid. Unfortunately, it was so venomous that it had already spread through my whole body before we even got a doctor. Till now, I can only use drugs to suppress it."

Hearing this, everyone frowned, including Seraph.

’A poison? I’ve never encountered something like this...’

Looking at the girl’s condition, even without Halo’s insight, he could tell that her condition was worsening.

After all, she definitely didn’t look this pale when they first met.

"Does the poison get more violent whenever you use your spiritual energy?"

The question stunned Tamar, as she couldn’t understand how he had come to that conclusion so quickly.

Although she wanted to lie, something told her to just reveal everything. So, she nodded quietly.

"What?! And you went on that mission with us?" Ariana stood up in shock.

The bandit clearing mission they had taken was very dangerous and had caused them all to be pushed to their limits.

’No wonder she wasn’t looking good when we got back.’

"Hm. I see."

Unlike the silver-haired girl and her friends, Seraph remained calm and rational.

"In that case, I’ll try to find a solution about this. Just ensure you don’t use spiritual energy at all. If possible, don’t take any mission."

Tamar raised her head, her face clouded with confusion.

"Why...? It’s not like we’re on good terms."

Hearing that, Seraph just chuckled.

"You mean how our first meeting went? That was just a misunderstanding. Also, you’re Ariana’s friend now so I’ll do what I can to help."

Ariana turned to him, her eyes wet and teary.

"Big Brother, really? You’ll find a way to help her?"

Seraph nodded, patting her shoulder as she sat down.

"I’ll also make my findings. I don’t have experience with poisonous spirit beasts but I’m sure I know some elders who would be able to say a thing or two."

Fellin also promised, his gaze filled with determination.

Sera and Dera glanced at each other, then the latter spoke.

"Don’t worry, we’ll also ask our grandma about it. She would definitely have a solution."

Receiving support from them all, Tamar’s expression changed, becoming vulnerable. In the end, she couldn’t stop the tears from coming.

All her life, the only person who ever genuinely cared for her was her grandmother and her guardian.

This was the first time she could boldly say she had made not just a friend, but a group of friends who actually cared about her.

Seraph just smiled and leaned into the chair.

"Alright. We should all finish eating. I don’t know about you all, but I’m still a bit hungry."

Lightening up the mood with that statement, he turned everyone’s attention to their food and they all began eating again.

After the meal at the restaurant, Seraph said his goodbyes and returned to the Soul Peak.

After all, the atmosphere wasn’t right to continue hanging out with Ariana. Even his promised training with her was postponed.

When he returned to the Soul Peak, it was already past noon.

He returned to his room, changed into disciple robes, then set out for the library.

"If anything, I’ll should be able to find information about poisons here."

He whispered to himself as he stepped into the building.

As expected, the old librarian was still there, reading a book with a monocle over her right eye.

Seraph was perplexed, wondering why she would even need that.

As soon as he stepped inside, she raised her head to look at him.

"Hm? Boy, it’s you again."

Seraph blinked in surprise, not expecting her to recognize him.

"You remember me?"

The woman nodded, her glassy eyes twitching as she sized him up.

"I can tell when a Child of the Weave comes close. So I knew when you came here the first time."

She closed the book in her hand, facing him completely.

Seraph’s brow’s furrowed.

"Child of Weave? What’s that?"

He couldn’t help but feel perplexed. Why was he being called that?

"Forget it. You wouldn’t understand anyway."

Waving her hand dismissively, the woman continued.

"What are you looking for anyway? You don’t seem to be the type that loves staying in libraries."

Seraph just shrugged.

"Oh well, I’m looking for books about venomous spirit beasts and how to get rid of their venom from those bitten."

A trace of surprise flashed in the woman’s aged eyes.

"Hm? Someone got bitten? That’s bad. Those kind of creatures are rare after all."

She sighed, then pointed at a shelve of books not far away.

"Try checking that place. You should find some useful books. Honestly, I wouldn’t lie to you. There will always be a cure but..."

She paused, causing his ears to twitch expectantly.

"... getting the materials for the cure is something else."

Seraph’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded. He was aware that the Orchid Province lacked medicinal herbs used by alchemists which was why there were barely any alchemists in the province at all.

"Still, I’ll give it a try."

Shrugging, he went ahead to the shelve the woman had pointed out, and began browsing through the books present there.

After an hour of reading several books, he finally paused. There was a moment of silence as his expression changed drastically.

"Huh? What kind of... cure is this?"